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partenopean

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Let's be honest, there's no market for these brands here as much as we SFer like to believe. That's why stores like Leather Foot went out of business.


I respectly disagree.

Leatherfoot was odd from the get-go. I was there several times in 2013 and 2014, and spent several hours with the owner (the Nigerian gentleman) as well as their salesman Arnie / Arne (?) and the saleslady (Nicki?).

The salespeople were idiots. They had absolutely no clue what they were talking about. They assumed their customer was also an idiot with no knowledge of any shoes brands, manufacturing methods, or traditions, other than the mass-market, Euronext-list company crap that was sold in the neighborhood at Renfrew or Harry Rosen.

Arnie was up on the whatever the blogs were recommending (like polishing shoes with whiskey) and handling wildlife photography-grade SLR cameras to photograph shoes....so they knew how to make the Internet community feel at home in their store.

However, if you had moved to Toronto from the UK after wearing Church's through school (and sometimes in university), as well as your first job in the City, you were genuinely horrified.

The owner struck me as independently wealthy, and without any interest in the business, though he, unlike Arnie, was clearly familiar with the various classic brands.

Someone told me they opened a leatherfoot in Dubai????! Like, what???? Was the owner based there?

They moved from that Yorkville balcony, to that house on the west side of Avenue Road....I went there looking for some Aldens, they had disappeared by then....

There are something always odd about that place. I can't put my finger on it. But like Hazelton V....something wasn't right.



Nicolas, however, on the other hand.....it is scary how well he knows his stuff (and how quickly he can size up a customer....)
 

Jamesbond1

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Let's be honest, there's no market for these brands here as much as we SFer like to believe. That's why stores like Leather Foot went out of business.
Leatherfoot went out of business for the enormous rent they were paying and the owner loosing interest.
C&J and EG has a market in Toronto!
But not the SF common crowd who looks for discounts 365 days a year ??
 

partenopean

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I may be wrong, but I don't believe Leatherfoot stocked any Northampton-made shoes.

I remember this vividly, because Arnie had no idea what Northhampton was -- person, place, or thing.


After 18 months, I went to Yorkville last Friday. There is an Isaia opening-up or opened-up at the corner of Bellair and Yorkville Avenue. I peered through the window -- there seems to be an aperitivo bar, like a coffee shop in Italy....

What the hell is going to happen there!???? Bar meets buying a suit??!??
 

suitforcourt

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@suitforcourt If anyone is doing to Toronto group visit, I'm down.

FWIW -- I used to work in Brookfield Place. I started doing my own thing in 2019, so I have been away for a while, but the whole place was Zombie Apocalypse the last time I was there in September.

Does anyone here work in the financial district, and actually go in to work? Until that comes back full force to March 12, 2020 levels, Classic Menswear in Toronto is dead.

I'm picking up the second pair in 2-3 weeks once they arrive. I will message here and see if anyone is interested in a group visit. His hours are only 10am to 3pm.
 

Jamesbond1

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I may be wrong, but I don't believe Leatherfoot stocked any Northampton-made shoes.

I remember this vividly, because Arnie had no idea what Northhampton was -- person, place, or thing.


After 18 months, I went to Yorkville last Friday. There is an Isaia opening-up or opened-up at the corner of Bellair and Yorkville Avenue. I peered through the window -- there seems to be an aperitivo bar, like a coffee shop in Italy....

What the hell is going to happen there!???? Bar meets buying a suit??!??
I purchased a few pairs of Crockett & Jones from Leatherfoot. Not surprised by the coffee shop there as many so called bespoke boutiques offer scotch with **** made to measure suits in town. They do mostly call them bespoke ??‍♂️.
 

KaleidoscopicK

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@suitforcourt If anyone is doing to Toronto group visit, I'm down.

FWIW -- I used to work in Brookfield Place. I started doing my own thing in 2019, so I have been away for a while, but the whole place was Zombie Apocalypse the last time I was there in September.

Does anyone here work in the financial district, and actually go in to work? Until that comes back full force to March 12, 2020 levels, Classic Menswear in Toronto is dead.

I used to work at one of the towers on Wellington. My team went remote a little later than others in my department, as my work was more essential in nature and they had to figure out the logistics of us working from home. I switched jobs in August and happened to be back in the area that same month, and it was depressing how empty the PATH was at 3pm.

It always felt as if CM in the financial district was fading, but the pandemic certainly accellerated that. Myself included: my workplace had relaxed their dress code long before I joined. I'd wear a suit once a week at most.
 

mebiuspower

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After 18 months, I went to Yorkville last Friday. There is an Isaia opening-up or opened-up at the corner of Bellair and Yorkville Avenue. I peered through the window -- there seems to be an aperitivo bar, like a coffee shop in Italy....

What the hell is going to happen there!???? Bar meets buying a suit??!??

It's Italian - you have an espresso while they measure you.
 

suitforcourt

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We can spend days here dissecting why LF failed, but if there's an opportunity there, there would've been another store opened by now.

I agree. The Toronto market doesn't seem to support well made men's footwear.

On a side note, Ivor informed me that Alphonse, the cobbler at Bay Bloor Shoe Repair passed away in the summer. It has been taken over by another person.

With Alphonse's passing, there is not one cobbler in Toronto proper I would trust with shoe repair. I will just continue shipping my stuff out.
 

mebiuspower

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I agree. The Toronto market doesn't seem to support well made men's footwear.

It's just not a thing here. It's just like women's shoes is not a thing in Winnipeg.

20211007_102026.jpg
 

iliamerk

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I agree. The Toronto market doesn't seem to support well made men's footwear.

On a side note, Ivor informed me that Alphonse, the cobbler at Bay Bloor Shoe Repair passed away in the summer. It has been taken over by another person.

With Alphonse's passing, there is not one cobbler in Toronto proper I would trust with shoe repair. I will just continue shipping my stuff out.

I've been meaning to ask you. Do you have any suggestions where I can find a good selection of Saphir shoe care products in store? I know Rob's Best Foot Forward has a some selection, wondering if you know of any other shops?
 

KWang94

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@suitforcourt If anyone is doing to Toronto group visit, I'm down.

FWIW -- I used to work in Brookfield Place. I started doing my own thing in 2019, so I have been away for a while, but the whole place was Zombie Apocalypse the last time I was there in September.

Does anyone here work in the financial district, and actually go in to work? Until that comes back full force to March 12, 2020 levels, Classic Menswear in Toronto is dead.

I just got an offer at a Big 5 bank in their AM division. Expectation is to be in the office 2-3x a week.
 

Ebichuman

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it’ll be another few months until the PATH is close to 50% of what it was (and who knows how long, if ever, until it gets to 100%). I’m in FCP and we’re in office roughly once a week. The numbers grew slowly over the past few weeks but we’re still at probably 20% of capacity. Half of the stores are still closed or closed for good.
 

suitforcourt

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I've been meaning to ask you. Do you have any suggestions where I can find a good selection of Saphir shoe care products in store? I know Rob's Best Foot Forward has a some selection, wondering if you know of any other shops?

Either Rob's or GTA Shoe Shine, as he is a quick drive from my house. Otherwise I normally pick up supplies when I visit Dimar in Guelph or Fix em Up in Barrie.
 

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